I love their mischievous looks.  This one looks like he’s asking “How you do-in?” in the Joey Tribbiani accent.

December 16th is Chocolate Covered Anything day – who makes up this stuff, I have no clue – but I’ll certainly use this as an excuse to eat some.

The Elves brought us Chocolate Covered Caramel (Rolo), Chocolate Covered Sea Salted Caramel (my favorite), Chocolate Covered Raisins, Chocolate Covered Peanuts, and Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter (Reese’s, the kids favorite).

Em slept in her Dorothy Halloween outfit – the color scheme goes perfectly.

LilMan is trying to get some of the mints the Elves brought earlier.  Surprisingly he’s not into chocolate as much as Em.

But he loved the surprise, the fluffy white stuff (polyfill) and he couldn’t wait for Em to see because he knew she’d love it.:)  As I’m writing this, I can hear him singing “Jingle-bells” downstairs – this is his favorite holiday.

Em is trying, very gently so she doesn’t touch, to share some candy with the Elves.  She’s candy herself – she’s so sweet.

I hope you enjoyed our family’s Elf adventures!  What would you like to have the Elves bring to your house?

Thank goodness, I think our Elf was getting bored!  His little Elf friend knew the Connect 4 Game
would help make things a bit more interesting. Now the big question is: “Is she now our elf, or is she just visiting?”

I hope you try this recipe that have honed over the years to kick it up a notch: make it and freeze some to enjoy later.

Here is almost everything I used, the only thing missing is the frozen shrimp and bacon.  I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but it can take less time if you do prep work in bulk.  For example:

When I buy onions and peppers, I buy a bunch at Costco and take the time that day to slice and chop then freeze.  It saves me a lot of time throughout the week.  You can do the same with the chicken and sausage, cut a lot in cubes and freeze. So next time you want to make Jambalaya it’ll take half the prep time!

I added everything Except for the shrimp and bacon.  The frozen shrimp is added in the last 30 minutes. I used one piece of crisp bacon per serving as a garnish.

The final dish, it was very flavorful and ensured I drank my daily allowance of water!

For another personal family favorite crockpot recipe, be sure to check out my Hearty Crockpot Chili.

Spicy Crockpot Jambalaya

 

Author: Stephanie Weaver

Recipe type: Crockpot

Cuisine: Cajun

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  8 hours

Total time:  8 hours 15 mins

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I’ve modified a base Jambalaya over the years to remove what I don’t like and add more of what I do – the result a spicy, meaty, rich dish.

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast cut into cubes
• 1 pound Polska Kielbasa
• 1 can of diced tomatoes 14.5 oz (I usually grab whatever kind is in the pantry, in this case Italian stewed tomatoes)
• 1 can Rotelle Original (if you want to make it extra spicy get the “hot” kind, but try this Original first)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper (or orange or yellow)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 2 tsp Tony Chachere’s
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 1 pound frozen shrimp

Instructions

1. Add all the ingredients in the crockpot EXCEPT the shrimp and bacon.
2. Cover and cook 7 to 8 hours on low or 3 to 4 hours on high.
3. Stir in the frozen shrimp the last 30 minutes of cook time.
4. Serve over rice and Garnish with crisp bacon if desired.

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Feel free to DOWNLOAD the Poem so you can modify the # of Days based on when your Elf arrives.

I hope you enjoy this start to a spirited season where we are reminded of the gift that have been given to us.

God Bless and I hope you come back for more fun that our elf will bring, just check out the antics he was up to in years past! 

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I know the  stores began getting ready for Christmas back in August, but when it is 80/90 degrees outside, it is really hard to start thinking about Christmas.  But now, the weather has turned, the leaves have fallen, and the holiday cookies and treats are in full display at the stores.  Now is the time that I get excited about Christmas.  And best of all, the seasonal OREOs have it the stores! I grabbed two bags of the Candy Cane OREOs and thankfully OREO asked some of us bloggers to come up with a creative way to decorate/dress-up the Classic OREO Cookie Balls Recipe.

As soon as I saw the Candy Cane OREOs, I knew what I was going to do!  These little delights even changed up the decor for my dining room – that’s right – a Cookie changed my decorating theme

The classic OREO Cookie Ball Recipe calls for 3 simple ingredients: OREOs, Cream Cheese and Chocolate (I used white chocolate). And NO BAKING!!!!

Here is the decorative items I used:

• Candy Canes,
• Food-Grade Platinum Dust Edible Glitter, Silver
• American Red Disco Dust, 3 grams
• Wilton Dab-N-Hold Edible Adhesive
• Wilton Pearl Color Mist.

I thought this was just a pretty picture of the Peppermint OREOs.

I sprayed my hands with butter and shaped the balls and poked each with a candy cane.  Then I placed them in the freezer for about 10 minutes.  Then I covered them with melted white chocolate. Then put them back in the freezer and prepared my decorating station.

This was my work area.

Once the OREOs and white chocolate where hardened, I used a dish and a clean paint brush to dab the edible adhesive then I dusted some of the edible glitter onto the OREO Cookie Balls. Waited for the adhesive to dry and dusted off the excess glitter.

HOW CUTE IS THIS!  They look like little Christmas ornaments!

It’s Dessert and a Mint!

What is your favorite Christmas Cookie?

Candy Cane Oreo Cookie Balls

 

Author: Recipe from OREO, Decorating by Stephanie at GrinningLikeAnIdiot.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Candy Cane OREO Cookie Balls Recipe

Prep time:  50 mins

Total time:  50 mins

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OREO Cookie balls are easy to make AND a great way to spread a bit of festive cheer. This recipe takes the classic OREO Cookie Balls Recipe and simply dresses it up for a minty fresh Christmas treat perfect for the next Christmas Cookie Exchange!

Ingredients

• 1 pkg (8 oz.) brick cream cheese, softened
• 36 OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 3 cups)
• semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted.
• Special Decorating items:
• Red Edible Glitter
• Platinum Edible Glitter
• Wilton Pearl Color Mist
• Wilton Silver Color Mist
• Wilton Dab-n-hold Edible Adhesive
• Mini Candy Canes

Instructions

1. Mix cream cheese and cookie crumbs until blended.
2. Shape into 48 1-inch balls. Freeze 10 minutes. Dip balls into melted chocolate. Place in single layer in shallow maxed paper-lined pan.
3. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
4. Add glitter

Notes

The OREO Cookie Ball Recipe only took about 10 minutes of prep time, decorating added on about another 40 minutes.

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You know how your tastes and smells can take you back to a moment?  Well a sip of 14 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon wine with it’s cherry flavor took me back to that moment;  and I knew this was the right wine to try and recreate that dish with a fun twist – I made it to accent homemade chicken nuggets.

The chicken nuggets recipe came from The Taste of Home. Simple and delicious!

Merlot Cherry Sauce

 

Author: Stephanie from GrinnningLikeAnIdiot.com

Recipe type: Sauce

Prep time:  5 mins

Cook time:  20 mins

Total time:  25 mins

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Cherry Merlot Sauce is good on chicken, cheesecake, pancakes, cake – whatever you want. Make plenty to save for later and/or give for gifts

Ingredients

• 1⅔ cup sugar
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1½ cup 14 Hands Merlot
• pinch of salt
• 1 16 oz bag of Frozen Dark Sweet Cherries – thawed and coarsely chopped

Instructions

1. Combine sugar, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, wine and a pinch of salt.
2. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until a rolling boil.
3. Add Cherries. Stirring constantly, bring back to a rolling boil until the liquid becomes thick (about 8 minutes).
4. Pour hot mixture into hot jars, filling to ¼ inch from top. Wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on bands.
5. Process in boiling-water bath 10 minutes.

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Be sure to take a look at the Wine Peach Sauce as well – these sauces are the perfect accessory to most dishes!

What smell or culinary treat takes you back in time?

Cool weather + Falling Leaves +Fading Sun = a Pot of Chili.

I’ve had my crockpot for over 20 years and it is the one-stop-pot for a hearty meal.  Over the next couple of posts I’ll share my favorite crockpot recipes that are crowd pleasers and will make your mouth water throughout the day.  To start, here is my Crockpot Chili Recipe.

I buy Publix and Target brand spices (FYI – Archer Farms, is Target brand), because it’s equal or greater quality than name brands for less price.  I know that real garlic is better then the stuff in the jar, but I buy the jar stuff because it lasts longer, less prep time and I always have it on hand.

Food Prep:
Brown the ground chuck and drained it.
I like to drain as much of the juices from the Red Beans, Kidney Beans and Chili Beans (You don’t have to get ride of it all, I prefer my Chili less soupy).
I then just loaded everything into the crockpot.

Onion Cutting Tip:
For less tears while cutting onions do two things:

1. Put the onion in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes before cutting
2. Cut the onion near a water source (I cut mine next to the sink with the water running).

Why?   There is a chemical in the onion that is released when combined with water it will become acidic, which is why you tear up.  By putting it in the fridge for a bit, it slows the release of the chemical and when you put it next to water the chemical will be drawn to the water stream rather than the moisture in your eyes.

Then stir it up, set it on low for 10 -12 hours or high for 5-6 hours.

I’ve made this chili for around 20 years now and what I love the best was coming home from a long day at work/school, where I drove to work/school in the dark and drove home in the dark, but as soon as I opened the door, the stresses of the day melted away with the warm of home and the promise of dinner smelling up the entire house with the rich aroma of chili – it instantly thaws you and sets the tone for the evening.

Hearty Crockpot Chili

 

Author: Stephanie Weaver

Recipe type: Crockpot

Cuisine: American

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  6 hours

Total time:  6 hours 15 mins

Print

Hearty Crockpot Chili

Ingredients

• 2 cans (16oz each) Red Kidney Beans – drained
• 2 cans (16oz each) Chili Beans – drained
• 2 cans (14 oz each) Tomatoes
• 2 lbs Ground Chuck – browned and drained
• 1 Medium Onion
• 2 tbs of Garlic
• 3 tbs of Chili Powder
• 1 tsp of Black Pepper
• 1 tsp of Cumin

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients, cook on low for 10-12 hours or high for 5-6 hours.

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Em had a dance recital back in March of this year, where I took the following picture.

I loved the playfulness, the femininity and the graceful lines – Em even has her pinky raised.  I can’t remember what they were looking at and why the little girl  started clapping, but it still makes me smile

And this is the painting that I did.

I hope you like it too!